Son of Neptune Preview 2nd Chapter
by TheCowJumpedOverTheMoon Co
Summary: This is a preview of the second chapter of Riordan's Son of Neptune. The recording is from the 5/25/11 NYC appearance.


**A/N: This is a sneak peek read by Erick Nelson in Rick Riordan's NYC appearance. As this is a recording, (and I only relayed on my hearing) there may be some errors, but feel free to correct me in any way. You can find a link to the video appearance of Riordan at the end of the chapter. To thoroughly understand this you should read the first chapter previewed in Riordan's site.**

**Disclaimer: The following excerpt belongs to Rick Riordan. I do not claim ownership, etc, etc. **

Son of Neptune

Chapter 2

Part of him wanted to head west, to the ocean. That's where he would be safest, where his power would be greatest. Those robed guards at the door made him uneasy, something inside him said 'This isn't my territory, this is dangerous'.

"You're right, of course" said a voice next to him.

Percy jumped. At first he thought Beano had managed to sneak up on him again, but the old lady next to him, sitting on the bushes was even more repulsive than a Gorgon.

She looked like a hippy who had been kicked to the side of the road maybe forty years ago, where she had been collecting trash and rags ever since. She wore a dress made of tie-dyed cloth, ripped-off quilts and plastic grocery bags. Her crazy mop of hair was great and round*, tied back with a piece of head band. Warts and moles covered her face and when she smiled, she showed exactly three teeth.

"It isn't a maintenance tunnel" she complied "It's the entrance to camp"

A jolt went through Percy's spine. Yes, that's where he was from…a camp! Maybe this was his home, maybe Annabeth was right*, maybe she was close by. But something felt… wrong.

The Gorgons were still on the roof of the apartment building. Then, Stheno screeched in the light and pointed at his direction.

The old hippy lady raised her eyebrows "Not much time child, you need to make your choice"

"Who are you?" Percy asked, although he wasn't sure he wanted to know; the last thing he needed was another harmless mortal who turned out to be a monster.

"Oh, you can call me June" the old ladies' eyes sparkled, as if she made an excellent joke "It is June, isn't it? They named a month after me"

"Okay… Uhh, look, I should go, two gorgons are coming and I don't want them to hurt you"

June clasped her hands over her heart "How sweet, but that's part of your choice"

"My choice?" Percy glanced nervously over the hill, the Gorgons had taken off their green vests; wings sprouted from their backs. Small bat wings, which glinted like glass.

'Since when do they have wings?' Maybe they're ornamental; maybe they're too small to get a Gorgon into the air. Then, the two sisters leaped off the apartment building and soared towards him.

Great, just great.

"Yes, a choice" June said, like she was in no hurry "You can leave me here at the mercy of the Gorgons, and go to the ocean- and make it there safely, I guarantee. The Gorgons would be quite happy to attack me and let you go. In the sea, no monster would bother; you could begin a new life, live to a rightful age and escape a great deal of pain and misery that is being a refugee."

Percy was pretty sure he wasn't going t like the second option. "Or?"

"Or, you could do a good deed for an old lady" she said. "Carry me to camp with you"

"Carry you?" Percy hoped she was kidding. Then, June heightened up her skirt and showed him her swollen purple feet.

"I can't get there by myself" she said "Carry me to camp across the highway, through the tunnel and across the river"

Percy didn't know what river she meant, but it didn't seem easy. June looked pretty heavy. The Gorgons were only 50 yards away now, leashing and gliding toward him, as if they knew their hunt was over.

"And I carry you to this camp because…"

"Because it's a Trinus!*" she said "And if you don't, the gods will die, the world we know will perish and everyone from your old life would be destroyed. Of course, you don't remember them, so it won't matter I suppose. You'll be safe at the bottom of the sea."

Percy swallowed. The Gorgons shrieked and laughed as they soared in for the kill. "If I go to camp" I said "will I get my memory back?"

"Eventually" June said "But in order to do that, you will sacrifice much, you'll lose the mark of Achilles and you will feel pain, misery and loss on anything you'd ever known. But you might have a chance to save your old friends, and your family and reclaim your old life."

The Gorgons were circling right overhead, they were probably studying the old woman, trying to figure out who the new player was before they struck.

"What about the guards at the door?" Percy asked

June smiled "Oh, they'll let you in there, you can trust those two… So, what do you say? Will you help a defenseless old woman?"

Percy doubted that she was defenseless. At worst, this was a trap; and at best, this was a test.

Percy hated tests. Since he lost his memory, his life has been a whole film of blank. He was blank from blank. He felt like blank, and after the monsters got him, he'd be blank.*

And then, he thought about Annabeth, the only part of his old life he was sure about. He _had _to find her.

"I'll carry you" He scooped the old woman- he was lighter than he expected. Percy tried to ignore her sour breath and the calloused hands that clinged to his neck.

He barely crossed the first lane of traffic*. A driver honked. Another yelled something that was lost in the wind. But most just swerved and looked irritated, as if they had to deal with a lot of ratty teenagers carrying old hippy women across the bridge.

***The phrases marked with an asterisk (star) are words that I found difficult to understand, due to the background noise or other matters.**

**I highly recommend watching the video here:** .com/watch?v=pMGAbfqtjUw **it's very entertaining and maybe you can understand the words I couldn't – in that case I ask for you to put the phrase marked * and the correct one on the comments section. The video belongs to** MsPoseidonsdaughter1

**Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.**


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